Bodywork!!

So, after a long break, there has been some progress this week. A new cutting disc meant that several months of work related frustration could be taken out on various innocent pieces of steel! First up was the rear bulkhead which was trimmed to fit - a laborious process! It now fits neatly but will not be welded in place until all the connections that need to go through it are finalised. Next up was the former VW engine cover. Various pieces of it needed trimming so some excess aggression sorted them out! I next cut a strip of steel and formed it to fit around the inside of the cover. This was tack welded onto the VW piece - a fun job due to the extreme thinness of the production car steel! Finally, a curved sheet was cut to fit inside and bent to shape with more muscle power and using the front wheel as a template! The end result, which clearly needs trimming and finishing, looks about right! Today I cut a number of small aluminium panels to trial them as infill for the various gaps along the nose. These will eventually be bolted in position with some nice looking Hex bolts I hope. Here are a few photos so you can see what I've been up to!

Small update

Just a quick update to let anyone who reads this know that I am still here! Another trip 'abroad' and a new puppy have limited progress recently but with today being a wet, miserable sunday, I managed an hour or so of work, mainly cutting out the rear bulkhead. It needs little trimming to fit, but typically I now need a new large cutting disk to finish it off!!! More soon I hope!

Passenger Bulkhead

Progress has been continuing at a slow but steady rate of late. An amount of thinking time was necessary in order to work out exactly the best way to attach the passenger footwell bulkhead. The problem was that it had to be removable to allow the fuel tank to be removed should the need arise. At stoneleigh I saw the stand from Memfast and realised that rivnuts would be the answer, however, it seemed an expensive way of doing it if I had to buy a rivnut insertion tool. A trawl of the internet led me to develop my own do it yourself solution involving a nut, 2 bolts and a washer, along with 3 spanners! One of the nuts was drilled through to remove the thread. First, the 'good' nut was threaded onto the bolt, then the washer, then the drilled through nut. finally the rivnut was threaded onto the bolt and inserted into the hole. A flat ring spanner was fitted to the drilled through nut and I clamed this in place to stop the rivnut rotating in its hole. Then, holding the bolt still with one spanner, I tightened the nut against the washer which pulled the bolt and rivnut tight and fastened it in position - 3 or 4 turns was more than enough. The end result was a neat, solid bolted bulkhead. To finish off, I put the fuel tank in postion at the front of the car. This leaves the fuel filter and the master cylinder reservoir to mount before the front is finished......ish!

Bulkhead

The last month has seen lots of small steps towards completion of the front bulkhead. As usual, I started with a cardboard template - the bulkhead has to allow the steering column, clutch and brake master cylinder through it. I had a small panic when reading the latest IVA rules which stated that the fuel tank should be separated from the passenger compartment by a bulkhead which should not have any holes in it. This is difficult as there must be some sort of hole to allow the fuel pipes out! I phoned VOSA and spoke to a very helpful expert who said that what the rule wanted was to ensure that the fuel had a path of escape that would not cause it to flow into the cabin. Sorted!!! Anyway, the cardboard template wasn't a good as usual as the first attempt at making it out of steel wasn't very good! The bulkhead had to have a recess to allow the clutch pedal full travel, whilst also leaving room for brake and clutch pipes behind it. I went through lots of variations before I settled on the final, and simplest design. The recess for the clutch was made by cutting a piece of 50x50 box (and hitting it with a hammer) and welding it onto the sheet. The sheet was then trimmed to fit, re-trimmed, trimmed a bit more until it finally slotted in nicely. To finish off, I gave it a quick coat of weld-through primer so that it will stay in good condition! Next, I have to make a removable bulkhead for the passenger side that will allow removal of the fuel tank should it be necessary.

More fuel tank progress

Over the last week, the fuel tank has moved on further. First I made 2 further holes in the top of the tank; one for the filler and one for the vent/roll over valve. The latter was taken from the Fiesta tank whilst the filler came from the Rover. It bolts in from the inside and had a nice gasket to make a good seal. Then I moved onto the sides. Without access to a sheet folder any more, I had to bend these by hand, using the same angle iron again. The results weren't great at first but a little 'adjustment' with a hammer produced a much more acceptable fit. There were still odd places where the gap was a little bigger than ideal. Today I took the big step of welding them in. Overall it went quite well. I had a few problems with the wire feed from the welder - at times it was none too smooth. Quite frustrating as otherwise, the welding went well! I inspected some joints for pin holes and ground the welds back to check them - the results seem good enough! I need to get a new gasket for the pump and the vent valve and then I'll be able to test the joints with a foot pump and some soapy water!!!!!

More floor and fuel!

Well, as promised, a CD with the photos of our weekends work arrived in the post today. I've also included a couple of shots taken before we stripped the car. Today I welded yesterdays work on the fuel tank. The weld on the first seam went really well until just over half way when it began to distort and pull apart. I stopped and re clamped it then tried again - pity because it was looking good until then! The result will hopefully hold fuel but if it doesn't, I'll try a tank sealant!!! I then cut a hole in the top and let in the mount for the fuel pump. This was (carefully!) cut from the top of the Fiesta tank. It welded quite nicely onto the tank - 2 bits were a bit awkward and had to be patched up. The photos look worse than the reality! More soon I hope!

Pedals, floor and fuel tank

Well, for once lots to report since my last entry. I finished the clutch pedal and went to work on the throttle pedal. A cable of unknown origin proved to be the perfect length. The end was trimmed off and the end from the Fiat coupe cable used instead. The pedal end was welded onto the transverse shaft and the result was a working pedal linked to the engine! That took much longer to actually do than it seems when it is typed, partly because the position of the clutch pedal had to be adjusted so that there will be room for a left foot rest next to the pedal. Next was a visit from John and family for the weekend. The aim was simple - fit the floor! Saturday went well. The chassis was stripped in very short order and flipped over. The tedious process of cleaning the surface rust off the chassis began, followed by priming with weld through primer- I'm still not sure where some brackets will be going as yet. The floor was then cut from 18g steel. The sheet I had wasn't quite wide enough to fit in one piee so a join had to be made down one of the tubes. Fortunately it worked out just right and only 1 long cut of the sheet was necessary. I was using my 'big' angle grinder with a metal cutting disc, which seemed to work well! By sunday, we were on to the business of drilling pilot holes - I decided to bond and rivet the floor rather than weld, risking distortion! The floor was treated to several coats of etch primer before it was bonded into positon using sikaflex 221 and rivetted. The end results were very pleasing - no 'boing' from the floor. no photos as yet as the hard drive on my laptop gave up and I was unable to get the photos off Johns camera - they're on the way to me as I type! Today I movev on to the fuel tank. Firstly I made a mount for the master cylinder reservoir, which allowed me to work out how much space is available. I then made a prototype tank out of cardboard. I intend to have a removable bulkhead in the passenger footwell as this is the only way to get the tank in and out! I then cut a strip of the steel that I used for the floor and bent it into the required shap. In the absence of a sheet folder, I used some conveniently sized angle iron and g clamps - the result isn't perfect, but should suffice. Now I have to pluck up the courage to weld it.....

Clutch!

Another snowy day, a little more progress. Today I continued with the clutch pedal. I am using the shaft from the original Rover pedal box and mounting a bespoke pedal onto it using nylon suspension bushes. I wanted to use a coiled spring as a return spring and spent a little time today making this arangement work. When I finally did, it projected above the bodywork so it had to be modified again! Once this was sorted, I spent ages making sure that the pedal was in the correct place before tacking it in. Finally, I made a beacket to hold the tunnel end of the throttle transverse bar (not shown on photos). The end result was very satisfying as it meant that I could sit in the car and operate all three pedals for the first time (the brake pedal looks a bit strange, it works well) I didn't make Brrrrmmm noises, honest!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all readers of this Blog! Today it snowed! Allowed home at lunchtime as the snow was looking bad - the Lincolnshire Alps can be treacherous at this time of year! I managed to finish the brake master cylinder bracket at last, although it was hard work as the fan heater and extension leads from the garage have been donated to keep an elderly guinea pig warm! That meant no power tools (except the welder which has a lead long enough to reach the only plugs in the garage!). The results can be seen here, along with the throttle pedal . The positions have yet to be fully finalised but won't be too dissimilar to what is shown here. More soon I hope!